Nordic Bio-graphite

The problem we are addressing is the environmental impact associated with traditional methods of graphite production—both natural mining and synthetic production. Graphite is essential for various applications like electric vehicle (EV) batteries (17% of Graphite usage), electrodes in electric arc furnaces for steel production (34%), and refractory materials (16%).

The problem is growing due to the rapidly increasing demand for graphite, driven largely by the expansion of the electric vehicle (EV) industry and the growing need for energy storage solutions. On average, an EV battery includes 70kg of graphite. Yet its production is fraught with issues. Traditional mining and processing of natural graphite, as well as synthetic graphite production, are highly energy-intensive and associated with substantial CO2 emissions. The graphite that went into making the estimated 10 million EVs sold in 2023 generate roughly 11 bn kg of CO2 during production, which is comparable to driving 2.5 million gasoline-burning passenger vehicles for a year. With the growth of the EV market, this number is expected to quadruple by 2030. Further, the processes contribute to environmental degradation, including significant air and water pollution.

Both the European Union and the United States have identified graphite as a critical mineral with a rapidly widening gap between supply and demand. As the demand for batteries increases, particularly for EVs, this gap poses a serious risk to the industry's sustainability and economic stability. China dominates graphite production with nearly 70-80% of global output. In November, China restricted exports of the material.

The high environmental impact and escalating demand of graphite are unsustainable in the long term.        

With two patents pending, the newly founded company Nordic Bio-Graphite will produce high-quality Bio Graphite, i.e, fossil free graphite, for manufacturers of EV-batteries, anodes for EAF-furnaces and for refractory materials or products.

Nordic BioGraphite and our new process for producing “green” graphite - biographite - could imply a considerable paradigm shift for the industry, today struggling with mitigating GHG-emissions and targeting net-zero operations.

We believe that fossil free graphite will be a very attractive alternative for the battery, car- or steelmaker that aims to compete with a net-zero product, provided a similar price/performance-level to fossil graphite.

Graphite, being a critical raw material, addresses a grave supply problem and provides a green product, replacing fossil (natural or synthetic) graphite - a severe emitter of CO2. NBG’s long term goal is to build a profitable and fast-growing company serving a sector with a rapidly growing demand for alternative and green solutions.

Nordic Bio-Graphite (NBG) serves manufacturers in industries such as electric vehicle (EV) batteries, electric arc furnace (EAF) anodes, and refractory materials. These industries are pivotal to global infrastructure and mobility but are currently contributing significantly to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to their use of fossil-derived graphite. By providing a high-quality, fossil-free graphite alternative, NBG plays a critical role in reducing these emissions.

The broader impact of our solution on global populations is substantial. First and foremost, reducing CO2 emissions contributes to mitigating climate change, which poses a severe risk to communities worldwide. Climate change leads to more extreme weather, rising sea levels, and disrupted ecosystems, all of which threaten human health, safety, and food security. By lowering the carbon footprint of critical industries, NBG helps protect these fundamental aspects of human well-being.

Weihong Yang is leading the company from an R&D- and technical perspective. Weihong is a Docent, Group leader in Energy and Furnace Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Weihong has more than 180 publications in the field and is recognized as a leading expert in material technology.

Jakob Way leads the company from a commercial perspective. Jakob is a serial entrepreneur that has been listed by MIT Technology Review as one of the top 35 innovators in Europe. He is an Industrial Engineer with experience from commercializing research-based technology.

The company is also supported by advisors with experience from VC as well as industry experience from materials production.

We have developed graphite in a lab environment that has proven to meet the requirements. We are now scaling up to make a first large batch of Graphite for detailed testing in production environments.

We are addressing a huge global problem and will need help from a community. Our CEO has previous experience of how MIT Solve helped a previous startup (related to helping people with disabilites to learn). 

Access to experts, partners and other startups in the field will be critical to the sucess of the company.

Through research at the Royal Institute of Technology, our patent pending process is CO2 negative. It consumes less energy, and much less chemical (acid) using and produce a higher yield.

The process is based on using biocarbon as input material and has a unique approach to reduce input to the process.

Our product will help reduce CO2 emissions by producing carbon negative Graphite for the industry.

We have conducted early trials with the output from research lab processes and seen sucessful results.

We have interviewed relevant clients that has verified the demand for the green graphite.

The challenge is now to scale this process up.

Our primary focus is on reducing CO2 emissions from the use of graphite. Our process is carbon negative. For every kg of graphite, we are able to reduce up to 24 kg of CO2.

The process involves using carbon neutral biocarbon as an input and processing this material through wet impregnation, heating in a furnance and filtered.

We have conducted successful lab trials at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. The trials have yielded high-quality biographite for targeted applications.

See recent research including: 

Yang, W. et al. Bio-based anode material production for lithium–ion batteries through catalytic graphitization of biochar: the deployment of hybrid catalysts. Sci Rep 14, 3966 (2024).

https://rdcu.be/dFv1Z

https://www.nature.com/article...

Full time: 2.

Part time: 3.

11 years of research at the Royal Institute of Tehnology.

The commercialization process was initiated in 2023. The company owns the full IP.

We have a diverse multi national team with expertise from research as well  as business development.

We will market and sell biobased graphite and apply a market-based model with a green premium.
Further, we will sell technology licenses and know-how for local production of BioGraphite.

We are raising a seed investment to set up the first trial plant. In the Nordics, the company will adopt a Build- Own-Operate (BOO) approach, establishing domestic production plants for biographite. These plants will cater to battery cell producers, anode manufacturers (including steel companies and EAF-anode makers), and refractory product producers. Personalized engagement will drive marketing and sales efforts to reach potential customers within the segment.

We have expertise within the advisor board that has sucessfully managed similar processes.